CNBC News

The White House requested options for a military strike against Iran last September, a report by the Wall Street Journal revealed on Sunday, citing current and former U.S. officials. The request, reportedly made the National Security Council led by national security advisor John Bolton, alarmed Pentagon and State Department officials, The Journal wrote on Sunday. The Council made the move after an Iranian-aligned group fired missiles into Baghdad’s diplomatic quarter, which hosts the U.S. embassy…

With a growing number of long-range battery-cars coming to market, Nissan’s own electric vehicle, the Leaf, has been in danger of coming unplugged. But the Japanese automaker is hoping to attract potential buyers with the launch of a new model that gives a 50 percent boost to both range and performance. The new Nissan Leaf Plus will go on sale in early spring and will deliver an estimated 226 miles per charge of its lithium-ion…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that a rift between Qatar and its Arab Gulf neighbors had gone on for too long. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran – something Doha denies. The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni…

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday he would request a confidence vote in parliament after his junior coalition partner quit in protest at an accord seeking to end a decades-old row over the name of neighboring Macedonia. Tsipras has said he would ask for a confidence vote before the Macedonia deal comes to parliament if his junior coalition partner Panos Kammenos, head of the right-wing Independents Greeks party, withdrew his support to the…

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday said he would call a confidence vote in his government after his coalition ally quit, leaving him bereft of a parliamentary majority and raising the possibility of snap elections. Earlier, Greece’s right-wing defense minister resigned in protest at a deal ending a long running dispute with Macedonia over its name, saying he was taking his other six ministers in cabinet with him. Panos Kammenos’s Independent Greeks party had…

Saudi Arabia plans to set up a $10 billion oil refinery in Pakistan’s deepwater port of Gwadar, the Saudi energy minister said on Saturday, speaking at the Indian Ocean port that is being developed with the help of China. Pakistan wants to attract investment and other financial support to tackle a soaring current account deficit caused partly by rising oil prices. Last year, Saudi Arabia offered Pakistan a $6 billion package that included help to…

OPEC’s largest oil producer is willing to work with all parties to balance the crude market in 2019, and that could include U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC on Sunday. Asked if he would work with Trump, al-Falih replied, “We will work with all interested producers who want to bring stability to the market … OPEC plus and anybody else who would like to do it with us.” The American…

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said Sunday he’s positive OPEC and partnered nations will meet their production cut commitments to balance oil markets in 2019, despite what he described as a slower than anticipated pace by some. “We’ve already done it, we’ve done enough,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told CNBC on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, when asked what OPEC’s largest producer would do to balance markets this year. “Not only the kingdom but other countries,…

Walter V. Shipley, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Chase Manhattan Bank, has died at the age of 83, the bank announced on Saturday. Shipley is credited with crafted a series of bank mergers that led to the formation of JPMorgan Chase, the current powerhouse that casts a long shadow on Wall Street. Shipley’s accomplishments are noteworthy, given that he was forced to leave college due to poor grades. Over four decades, he…

The North American International Auto Show kicks off Monday, but Detroit’s flagship car exposition isn’t what it used to be as luxury automakers are going elsewhere to debut their latest designs. Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, Porsche, Jaguar, Land Rover are skipping the show in an official capacity this year. Even smaller manufacturers, like Mitsubishi and Mini, have opted out. In years past, it wouldn’t be uncommon to see debuts of more than a dozen new…